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(Yahoo!) - Zoe Saldana was holding out on us — but it was worth the wait!

It took several months for news to get out that the "Avatar" beauty secretly married her Italian beau Marco Perego in July, so we aren't that surprised that we're just now getting a glimpse of her gorgeous engagement ring. The actress debuted the stunning emerald at the LACMA gala over the weekend, opting to wear a curve-hugging green and black Gucci gown to properly let her bling shine.

The gem — which Saldana has previously been snapped wearing in paparazzi shots, though it was mostly obscured in the grainy pics — is unusual in that it's not a traditional diamond engagement ring. The jaw-dropper centers around a large pear-cut center emerald. There are two smaller diamonds on either side and smaller pave diamonds outlining the stones and the band.

This colored engagement ring thing has become a trend for brides — in Hollywood and beyond.

"Colored stones are huge right now, for celebs and regular girls," Kimberly Fusaro — who keeps tabs on these kinds of things as editor of Glamour magazine's weddings blog, Save the Date — tells omg!. "Kate Middleton has her sapphire, of course; Halle Berry has an emerald-and-diamond ring; Jessica Simpson's ring is a diamond flanked by rubies; and Jason Sudeikis gave Olivia Wilde a diamond in an emerald halo."

So what's that all about? Well, "I think girls like having an engagement ring that stands out from the crowd," Fusaro continues. "Plus, you get more engagement ring for your buck — whatever your budget is — if you opt for less-expensive gemstones over diamonds."

Though don't think Saldana's new hubby skimped on her ring. Zaven Ghanimian, marketing director of Simon G. Jewelry, told E! News that the emerald alone likely cost "somewhere between $18,000 to $32,000, depending on the clarity and origin of the stone."

Saldana married the artist in a secret ceremony in July. And while she has yet to talk about life as a newlywed, she sure made a statement with this well-planned ring debut.